I Want Your Everything As Long As It's Free

Bandslam (Graff, 2009)

With The Secret of Kells I watched a stunningly beautiful and utterly captivating re-telling regarding the creation of a famed Irish manuscript. With Un Prophete I was sucked in to a tense prison drama ripe with thematic depth and engrossing characters. Likewise, Shutter Island and Alice in Wonderland are two insanely enjoyable entries from what I consider to be two of my favorite director's best fictional films in impressive filmographies. Hell, I even finally had a chance to watch the stunning 2001: A Space Odyssey, likely cementing the third of three Kubrick films I have seen that will appear on my Top 97, and the mildly amusing In the Mood for Love from Wong Kar Wai. And of all these films, during this far too long hiatus, is it any surprise the that film that inspired me to log back in and share my thoughts would be Bandslam?

Let us make one thing abundantly clear before going much farther in to this reflection: Bandslam is not a complex film, it does not take twists or turns, you know where this film is going right from the cliche voice over beginning to the puzzling cameo at the end. So what, you may ask, has this film done to make me want to start writing again? One scene, that's it, one magical, beautiful, reserved, fascinating, charming, wonderful scene. One scene that, after I get the boring majority of the film out of the way first, I will devote a full paragraph to later in the reflection.

Basically what we have with Bandslam is the love child of Adventureland and 17 Again without all the complexity or hilarity of the Greg Motolla film or all the charm and charisma of any non-High School Musical film headed by Zac Efron. Speaking of High School Musical, series alumni Vanessa Hudgens has a prominent role in this film, and for the most part she turns in a solid performance. Actually, performances are solid across the board, which I suppose is part of the problem. Nothing really stands out. Even Lisa Kudrow, who had a decent enough turn in Hotel for Dogs, does nothing of merit in a role that she probably could have taken a couple of liberties with here and there. Much like a majority of the humor, the actors are all so bland.

But what is not bland, at least not as much as most other aspects of the film, is the direction. I am always puzzled when films like this, mainstream affairs that tend to bomb at the box office, consistently surprise me on a technical level. In recent years many more directors have been making wonderful use of the wide shot, one of my favorite ways to frame a scene, and the use of symmetry, or at the very least the positioning of actors in a frame, is generally used to great success. A shot of Hudgens' Sa5m (the 5 is silent) and lead actor Gaelan Connell's Will Burton sitting on an overlook is absolutely stunning, quiet, and reserved. All of these aspects add to selling the romance between the two, but they sell it not in the bombastic kiss me in the rain manner that so many mainstream romances impress upon the viewer; instead it's calm, it's quiet, it's beautiful, and it's a bit awkward, and a bit natural. And this tone, when present in the film, is mind blowing.

Unfortunately, this tone is not in the film very often. The main premise of Bandslam is that a band from across the country wins a big battle and gets a record deal. And while the film is quick to tout its rock and roll knowledge and name drop The Velvet Underground, Led Zeppelin, The Who, and countless other classic acts with little regards for the target demographic, the desire to cater to a PG crowd and the notions that casting Vanessa Hudgens forces the audience to bring to a film result in such figures being placed alongside the modern notions of the genre has progressed in the modern era. For so many kids who claim to be inspired by Bowie and Lou Reed it certainly does not come through in the type of music they play. Not to say the music is bad, just that the maths don't really add up.

But who cares? You know why? Because this film could be 18 hours of trite, humorless, monotonous bullshit and still get a pass from me. Remember when I talked about tone and mood? Well here come some spoilers as I attempt to accurately convey my reaction to that majestic occurrence that happens a little more than halfway through the film. We are in class, presenting on the Who Is Your Partner (my title not the film's) Project. Last weekend Will totally blew off his first official date with Sa5m, unintentionally, to scope out the competition from one of the rival bands. So a vindictive same, in a stunningly effective reserved turn from Hudgens, is armed with a mirror as she, word by word, tears Will apart. She is vicious, you know Will deserves it and so does she, as she works in a wonderful extended metaphor about how he will casually reflect upon anyone exactly what they want to hear, obliging anyone except his nonexistent self. As my mouth is agape at the intensity of what is transpiring the teacher injects some throw away comedy about how it is mean. And I feel bad, bad for Sa5m, and bad for Will, who I had completely bought in to by that point in the film. And then it's his turn. He takes a DVD and places it in the projector. I assume it's of Sa5m singing as a child, a DVD shown to Will a few scenes early that Sa5m told her mom never to show anyone. But it's not. It's a Will Burton film featuring the director and a cardboard cutout of Sa5m sitting on a blanket, drinking Coca-Cola from Twizlers, one can, two straws. And the music plays, and the montage within the film happens. We need no words, it's teenage infatuation, it's fleeting feelings and an eternal magic that lies dormant, or perhaps awakened, in myself, likely in any adult watching the film. And the juxtaposition. I do not do my scene, nor my reaction, justice, but it's one of the most emotional reactions I've had to a film in quite some time. Why can't more films do this?

What more can I say? Bandslam is generic, it is bland, it is puzzling, contradictory, and all types of other adjectives that make it not even half as entertaining as 17 Again and barely a fraction as profound as Adventureland. But it has one of the most spectacular scenes in any film I have ever seen, and God damn is that impressive.

C+ or 3.182376218462178946239845623

And with that, at least for now, I am finally finished with 2009, I think. What a year. I need to do a complete re-cap in the near future.

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.

Your Head Will Collapse When There's Nothing In It, And You'll Ask Yourself: Where Is My Mind?

Where The Wild Things Are (Jonze, 2009)

The PG rating tacked on to Spike Jonze's latest film, Where The Wild Things Are, may make you think that this film is intended for children, but I can almost assure you that more adults will enjoy this movie than children will, which is to be expected when you have a director who has only handled adult films focusing on the philosophical plight of man. I am mostly unfamiliar with Jonze's previous work, though I have seen and rather enjoyed Adaptation, and Where The Wild Things Are was set to be my first Jonze film on the big screen. Since I had the pleasure of seeing the film in IMAX the screen certainly was large, perhaps even as large as the Wild Things that young Max encounters. Much like my lack of knowledge about most of Jonze's career with a camera, I have also never read the book this film is based on, so I went in without the years upon years of nostaliga that most viewers will likely enter with. Also, I basically thought the trailers were unimpressive. Still, I was hoping that Jonze could produce one of the year's best films, and I knew if there was a director capable of elevating what could easily have become a simple morality tale for families, Spike Jonze is that man.

In many ways Jonze does deliver a film that is so much more than a simple film made for family friendly audiences, we have a movie that is essentially a trip into the psyche of a vulnerable child as he apparently attempts to come to terms with all of the turmoil in his life. Jonze does, for better and worse, capture the idea of childhood with this film, in each and every regard. Unfortunately, that freedom also shines through in the narrative, or in many cases the lack thereof. The majority of the film when we spend time where the wild things are, the viewer is given only minor references to what portion of Max these creatures are supposed to represent or what the point of him being here is, other than to make things looks pretty for the viewer. But the film is a character study, we don't really need a plot, right? Right. Sadly, the character we are studying is developing constantly, but he is doing it through six or seven lesser portions that simply do not stand alone as compelling enough characters to warrant all the conflict and emotion that Jonze forces on the viewer. In many ways this film is like Antichrist, you know the symbolism is going on because the film pushes the viewer in that direction, but in neither film are we given enough to completely let these symbols exist naturally in the film, but with Antichrist the entire film is overtly allegorical, where as this film is all over the place because we need to believe the reality of the reality as well as the reality of the fantasy in this world. Perhaps I am over-analyzing the film, but I cannot help but I do feel safe in asserting that the film is more rewarding to contemplate afterward than it is to watch during. But that contemplation is the mark of a great film, I am so torn.

You know what else is the mark of a great film? Technical prowess. Jonze has this prowess in spades. Everything about the film up to the point where Max first encounters the wild things is absolutely brilliant. Not only are all of the actors near flawless, a trait that does carry throughout the entire film, but the camera is used so intimately that the intended emotion of each scene practically oozes from the screen. Pair that with the wonderful use soundtrack, the fantastic editing, and the intense art direction and we could have one fantastic film. Actually, all of those things mostly do run throughout the entire film. Why do I not love this film more? Anyhow, Jonze miraculously loses all of this emotion as the film continues, only capturing flashes of the initial greatness about ever 15 minutes or so. Thankfully the film is God damned beautiful, so despite the narrative and character development not being too engaging during the run the visuals are more than enough to keep the film afloat.

Minor spoilers in this next paragraph I suppose, but really it's only the first 15 minutes...

But I think things need to stay more than just afloat, in such a personal yet apparently universal film each and every viewer needs to be able to both sympathize and judge Max all at once. Perhaps that is what is missing in the middle. Early on, when we are still in the real world, everything Max does and each different scene not only reveals more and more about his character, though hardly in overt manners, while conveying different emotions. So much so that I imagine each and every viewer can, to some extent or another, connect with at least one of the things that Max experiences. Rebellion, isolation, joy, freedom, imagination, everything. Jonze displays it all, and he does it wonderfully. Hell, the film nearly had me in tears, which would have easily been a record, about fifteen minutes in when Max is lying on the ground under his mother's desk and she stresses out over work. I spent most of my adolescence in a single parent household and I completely connected with what Jonze had on display, but as a viewer I was also able to see the tragic beauty. And then we get the gut-wrenching scene where Max's mother has her boyfriend over. The way events transpire, it's devastatingly brilliant. But then that emotion disappears and we are given a pretty film to look at for a while.

Much like a child telling a story, the narrative offers basic symbols and moments of genius, but it just does not give enough during the film to truly showcase its brilliance. Yet after the credits rolled it's all mostly there, it just takes looking closer at the subtext. It's so confusing. I really do not know where I stand on the film, whether I love it, dislike it, respect it, admire it, adore it. I do not know. I honestly considered giving the film two ratings, but I can't do that, mostly because scores are meaningless. I'm certain this is not one of my favorite films of the year, yet aside from my top two or three there are no other films I have seen this year that I am more eager to revisit. I'll have to see if I can find someone to go with in the near future and hopefully get a fresh interpretation, maybe that will help me figure things out more. Let's just say it's pretty good, and pretty bad, and pretty fantastic.

B+/A- or 4.23234273847325462371895

We Were Once A Fairytale (Jonze, 2009)

Wow! A double dose of 2009 Spike Jonze! While I am still mostly confused about the Wild Things, I do know this short film is the best Spike Jonze directed film of 2009. Starring Kanye West in a role that is kind of like what I imagine John Malkovich did in the Jonze film about him, we experience a brief night in the club where Kanye struggles with identity, fame, rejection, and perhaps even the human condition. Jonze continues to show why he is magical with a camera, and he even gets a fairly decent performance out of Mr. West, though I have to wonder if Kanye always sounds so odd when he talks/yells. The film is a bit difficult to hear sometimes because it never drops the club atmosphere, so loud music is always playing, but that is nothing more than a minor complaint. While it is probably safe to give away the ending since Jonze has the film up online and it is only 11 minutes long, I will just talk about it in a round about manner. It's a fantastic ending point that, if I am interpreting it anywhere close to correct, and that may not be since the analytical portion of my brain had a good deal of trouble even formulating a decent idea of what was happening, essentially is delightfully bleak yet strikingly lovely. A great effort from Jonze and an excellent follow up to his messy Where The Wild Things Are.

A-/B+ or 4.278721462356239563279

And just like that I have hit 60 2009 films watched so far this year! I have roughly 4 months to hit 100, which I think is completely doable.

Feel free to watch We Were Once A Fairytale right here

Comments are welcome and, for anyone with a literary mind, I encourage checking out my poetry blog filled with all original works for your reading pleasure.

Also I am on the old Twitter thing so I guess you can follow me at twitter.com/FLYmeatwad.